Die neuen Figuren des Standard (The New Figures of Standard)

The Evolution of Competitive Standard: Aligning with World Class Regulations

In the highly competitive arena of International Standard ballroom dancing, structural alignment is everything. For decades, traditional national structures (such as Germany’s DTV) restricted lower-tier or restricted-class competitors strictly to Alex Moore textbook parameters. However, the modern global standard has dramatically shifted. Die neuen Figuren des Standard (The New Figures of Standard) is the historic, definitive video training guide produced to bridge this gap, cleanly introducing the full breadth of the WDSF Syllabus to national and international tracks alike.

By shifting standard frameworks to include advanced elements from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) manuals, official supplements, and the elite performance amalgams written by Italy’s famed Team Diablo, this curriculum injects 72 new figures and advanced combinations into the restricted categories. Demonstrated with flawless, world-class precision by championship competitors Dumitru Doga & Sarah Ertmer, this masterclass provides the exact mechanical, spatial, and timing instructions needed to construct complex, legal, and highly scored syllabus routines.

Why This Technical Masterclass Revalues Your Training:

• Absolute Legal Compliance: Ensure your competition choreography complies flawlessly with updated national and international WDSF restricted-class rules, completely avoiding costly judicial disqualifications.

• Expanded Choreographic Freedom: Transition effortlessly from basic combinations into advanced variations like Fallaway Natural Turns, Running Spins, and Dynamic Promenades (PP) across all five standard dances.

• Elite World-Championship Demonstration: Watch Dumitru Doga & Sarah Ertmer execute each pattern with exceptional core connection, perfectly closed frames, flawless ankle tracking, and crystal-clear alignment transitions.

• Dual-Language Analytical Voiceover: Guided by the masterful teaching eye of Petra Matschullat-Horn, offering precise technical commentary in both English and German to break down weight transfers and swing trajectories.

Inside the Technical Directory: The Full Syllabus Breakdown

I. SLOW WALTZ — Extended Fluidity & Promenades

• Master the advanced art of continuous running actions, fallaways, and deceptive hesitations within a 3/4 temporal frame.

  • 1. Drag Hesitation | 2. Wing

  • 3a. Fallaway Natural Turn | 3b. Fallaway Natural Turn ending in PP

  • 4. Running Weave from PP | 5. Running Spin Turn | 6. Overturned Running Spin Turn

  • 7a. Running Cross Chasse | 7b. Running Cross Chasse from PP | 7c. Running Cross Chasse ending in PP

  • 8a. Curved Feather | 8b. Curved Feather from PP

  • 9a. Running Finish | 9b. Running Finish ending in PP

  • 10. Outside Swivel | 11. Progressive Chasse to L | 12. Bounce Fallaway Weave Ending

  • 13a. Quick Open Reverse | 13b. Quick Open Reverse from PP

II. TANGO — Sharp Spatial Transitions & Counter-Locks

• Inject crisp, sudden linear tracking changes and deep rotational pivots without breaking your staccato poise.

  • 1. Whisk | 2. Back Whisk | 3. Telemark to PP

  • 4. Open Natural Turn | 5. Outside Spin | 6. Reverse Pivot | 7. In – Out

III. VIENNESE WALTZ — The Master Change Steps

• The definitive blueprint for managing maximum rotational velocity. Master the critical transition elements required to switch seamlessly between Natural and Reverse continuous spinning lanes.

  • 1. RF Forward Change Step (Natural to Reverse)

  • 2. LF Forward Change Step (Reverse to Natural)

  • 3. LF Backward Change Step (Natural to Reverse)

  • 4. RF Backward Change Step (Reverse to Natural)

IV. SLOWFOX — Continuous Linear Waves & Flight Extensions

• Unlock fluid, endless weight-transfers and floating, syncopated travel mechanics across the studio floor.

  • 1. Whisk | 2. Back Whisk | 3. Double Reverse Spin | 4. Outside Spin

  • 5. Curved Three Step | 6. Curved Feather from PP | 7. Running Weave from PP

  • 8. Quick Open Reverse Turn | 9. Extended Reverse Wave | 10. Reverse Pivot

  • 11a. Hover Corte | 11b. Hover Corte from PP

  • 12a. Progressive Chasse to R | 12b. Progressive Chasse to R with Weave Ending

V. QUICKSTEP — High-Octane Lock-Steps & Flight Paths

• Challenge your lower-body agility, light floor friction, and spatial control with intricate, rapid-fire syncopated runs.

  • 1. Cross Chasse | 2. Quarter Turn to L

  • 3a. Outside Change | 3b. Outside Change ending in PP

  • 4. Impetus to PP | 5. Telemark to PP | 6. Whisk | 7. Back Whisk | 8. Zig Zag | 9. Outside Spin

  • 10a. Natural Turning Lock | 10b. Natural Turning Lock ending in Closed Position | 10c. Natural Turning Lock overturned ending in Closed Pos.

  • 11. Drag Hesitation | 12a. Running Cross Chasse | 12b. Running Cross Chasse ending in PP

  • 13a. Weave from PP | 13b. Weave from PP ending in PP

  • 14a. Natural Fallaway Turn | 14b. Natural Fallaway Turn ending in PP

  • 15. Wing | 16. Wing from PP

  • 17a. Curved Feather | 17b. Curved Feather from PP | 18. Running Spin Turn

Technical Coaching Pro-Tip

Navigating the Physics of Shared Momentum: The absolute secret to cleanly executing advanced WDSF amalgams like the Running Weave from PP or the Bounce Fallaway Weave Ending lies in mastering the alignment of the partnership’s center-point during high-speed, linear footwork. In the traditional syllabus, partners mostly track directly facing each other or in structured, stationary promenade shapes. The new figures, however, constantly challenge your stability with sudden, running lane changes.

When executing any of the Running Cross Chasse variations across Slow Waltz or Quickstep, leaders must avoid pulling with their arms to force the rotation. Instead, use your lower abdominal core to drive your standing leg deeply into the floor, maintaining a wide, settled left-side extension. Both partners must maintain a continuous, active body flight, keeping their individual axes fully vertical while allowing the frame to smoothly rotate over the changing foot positions. Master this seamless blend of elastic counter-balance and disciplined tracking to ensure your routines look undeniably breathtaking, structurally sound, and perfectly polished under strict international judging eyes.